Coin-controlled newspaper-vending machine



J. H. ROBERTS.

COIN CONTROLLED NEWSPAPER VENDING MACHINE.

' APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8, I91]. 1 314,21 7, Patented Aug. 26, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

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com CONTROLLED NEWSPAPER vzwome MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNEH. Hill- 1 ,3 14,21 7, Patented Au 26, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. ROBERTS, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES W. SALISBURY, 01E COBTLAN D, NEW YORK.

Com-CONTROLLED NEWSPAPER-VEN' DING MACHINE.

7 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 8, 1917. Serial No. 178,541.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in CoimControlled Newspaper-Vending Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in coin-controlled newspaper vending machines, involving the use of a springactuated support upon which the papers are stacked and a manually-operated coin-controlled ejector mechanism for displacing the papers one by one from the stack into a deliver passage in the front of the case from whicli the operator may withdraw the selected paper at will.

These papers are usually folded alon their longitudinal center and afterwar along the transverse center so that the folded sheet is approximately one-fourth the area of the full sheet, and is preferably vended in this condition.

One of the objects is to enable the papers to be stacked in this folded condition one upon the other and the uppermost paper ejected into the delivery opening in the case without mutilation or displacement of the remaining papers.

Another object is to provide a simple form of ejector mechanism having relatively movable members adapted to be locked to each other by a coin between them and to connect one of said members with an operating lever whereby both members will be operated to eject the uppermost paper only when locked together by the coin.

A further object is to render the ejecting mechanism dependent upon the introduction of a plurality of, in this instance two, coins in succession and in such manner that the second one only will be effective in establishing a lock between the relatively movable parts of said mechanism.

A still further object is to utilize the coin not onl as a locking means between the relative y movable parts, but also the means whereby these parts are released one from the other and the coin automatically released from both parts to dro into a suitable receptacle provided there or.

Other objects and uses relating to specific features of the apparatus will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a coincontrolled newspaper vending machine embodying the features of my mvention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view of the same device taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1.

Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sectional views taken, respectively, in the planes of lines 3-3, and 4-4, Fig. 2.

Flg. 5 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5, Fig.3.

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view through the coin guide taken in the plane of line 6-6, Fig. 2.

The newspa ers to be vended, together with the ejectmg mechanism therefor, are housed within a suitable case -1- having a top lid 2- and a front door -3-, both of which are normally locked to protect the interior mechanism and papers, but may be opened a-t will for inspection and repairs, the function of the front door being more for the purpose of introducing the folded papers in refilling, said case bein of just suificient size to easily receive sai%l papers and permit their free vertical movement in a manner hereinafter described.

The interior of the case is preferably divided near the'top by a horizontal partition -4- into lower and upper compartments -5- and -6-, the lower compartment serving to receive a stack of apers, as -a-, together with the support t erefor and certain portions of the ejecting mechanism, while the upper chamber serves to re-. ceive certain other parts of the ejecting mechanism, including the operatin lever.

Front and rear pairs of uprig t guide rods -7- and -8- are supported within the chamber -5- between and by the bottom of the case and partition 4- and constitute guides along and upon which is movable a platform or follower -9- for supporting the stack of papers -a,-, the rear pair of rods -7- also serving as limiting stops or abutments for alinin the rear edges of the papers vertically, an for this purpose are spaced 2). art a distance less than the width of the fol ed papers when resting upon the platform. -9-, while the front guide rods -8- are spaced apart a .distance greater than the width of the folded Patented Aug. 26, 1919.-

25 edges provided with tubular sleeves 11 slidably mounted on the guide rods -12' to allow said. plate to move forwardly and against the under side of the platform 9,

' wardly and. fastened to blocks 13 on the the latter is deposited from while the uppermost paper engages a limit ing stop consisting, in this instance, of an' ejector plate 11 which Is mounted upon the movable lengthwise or forwardly and rearwardly extending guide rods --12 as\ shown more clearly in Figs.- 2 and 4:.

These guide rods are preferably supported in a slightly inclined plane a relatively short distance below the partition 4 and have their rear ends secured to the rear wall of the case, while their front ends are bent upfront wall of the case.

The ejector plate 11 is disposed in about the same plane as the lower edges of the guide rods 12' and has 1ts opposite rearwardly in a manner hereinafter described, and at the same time constituting a stop for limiting the upward movement of the papers.

A catch-plate -15 is hingedly mounted at '16 in upstanding ears -17- on the rear end of the ejector plate 11- and is provided with a series of pins 1 8 projecting through suitable apertures 1n the plate -1l a sufiicient distance below the under side thereof to engage the rear folded edge of the uppermost paper only,the lower ends of said. pins being preferably hookshape or slightly bent forwardly and are arranged in a lengthwise row in substantially the same vertical plane as that in which the rear upright guide rods 7 are located when the ejector plate 11 is at the limit of its extreme rear movement or normal position as produced. by retracting spring 19--. v

The catch plate 15 may be rocked about the axis of the pivots --16- by means of an adjusting screw 15- to vary the degree of projection of the lower ends of the ins 18- below the plate 11- according to the thickness of the papers to be vended.

Suitable means is provided for moving the ejector plate forwardly against the action of the retracting spring 19 to cause the catch pins +18- to force the uppermost paper forwardly into a delivery passage 20- which is provided in the front wall of the case just above the door 3 and in the plane of movement of the ejector plate 11-, and for this purpose the plate ing ears --21 to which is secured an arm -2Q- extending upwardly through a forwardly and rearwardly extending slot 23 in the partition 4- and having its upper end ofi'set laterally at -24 to form a coin abutment, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3.

A horizontally swinging rock arm 25- is pivoted at one end at 26 to the partition 4 and has its opposite end bifurcated to receive the offset 24, the opposite fingers of the arm 25- being provided with longitudinally elongated coin slots 27- which are normally alined with the delivery end of a superposed coin chute 28- (see'Figs. 2 and 5).

A stationary coin rest 29 lies directly under a portion of the lower coin slot 24-- when the arm '25 is in its normal position to temporarily support the coin after the chute 28- into the slots 27--.

These coin slots 27 are normally dis .posed just atthe rear edge of the offset 24 which constitutes a coin abutment for cooperation with "the coin slots 27 so the operator.

The means for rocking the lever '25 consists of a hand lever 30-- having its rear end pivoted at --26 and its forward end extending through a laterally elongated slot 31- in the front of the case just above the partition 1,' said lever being connected by a link -32- to the inner end of the rock arm '25 and is normally retracted by a spring -33, shown more clearly in Fig. 3, whereby the free end of the lever is normally disposed at the lefthand end of the slot -31. I

Any suitable means may be employed for conducting the necessary coin or coins to the delivery chute 28, and for this purpose I have provided a coin guide 34 incased. within a supplemental housing 35- on the top of the case -1- and having its front end registering with an inlet -36- and its rear end leading to the upper end of the com chute 2 8, as shown more clearly 1n Fig. 2.

In many instances,vthe ven price of the paper is two (2gb) cents, requiring the insertion of two coins in succession into the guide '34-, and in order to prevent the operation of the ejector plate l1-. upon the insertion of a single coin and to allow its operation upon the insertion of the second coin, I have provided the chute 28 with a branch delivery passage 37 located at one side of the normal position of the bifurcated end of the arm -2S and offset abutment 24, and have also provided a com deflector 38 which is preferably plvoted at the junction of the branch passage 37 with the main passage 28 so as toenable its upper end to move to opposite sldes of the delivery end of the guide 3f, said deflector being provided with limiting stops -39 for engaging opposite sides of anunderlying portion of the chute 28 to limit the movement of the deflector in one extreme position or the other.

These stops 39 alternately pro ect 1nto the passages 28 and 37-, respectlvely, as the deflector -38- is moved to opposite sides of the delivery end of the coin guide -31 so that a coin emerging from the guide into the chute 28 will be deflected by the member -38 on to the stop which projects across its passage, the weight of the coin being sufficient to depress sald stop and rock the member 38 to the opposite side of the delivery guide so that another coin deposited in the chute will be deflected on to the opposite side, thereby restorlng the deflector member to its supporting posltion.

For example, assuming that the deflector 38- is in its normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, and that a patron is desirous of obtaining a two-cent paper, he then places the first coin in the guide 34- which falls upon the right-hand stop 39, thereby rocking the deflector to the right of the de livery end of the guide and allowing the coin to pass to drop downwardly at one slde of the abutment 24 into a suitable receptacl; -40 underlying the branch passage 3 The patron then inserts another coin into the guide --34 which is delivered on to the left-hand stop '39-- and thence into the slots --2"(' just at the rear edge of the abutment 24- where it is supported temporarily upon the rest 29-.

The patron then rocks the hand lever 30- to the right against the action of the retracting spring 33-, thereby rocking the member 25 with the coin therein forwardly against the abutment 24 which forces the ejector plate -11 forwardly to eject the first underlying paper ainto the delivery passage 29 from which it may be withdrawn by the patron.

It will be noted that the abutment 24 and ejector plate actuated thereby move in a straight line forwardly and rearwardly, while the free end of the arm 25-- with the coin therein moves in an are about the axis of the pivot -26, thus causing the coin to slide along the rear edge of the abutment -24 during the operation of ejecting 66 one of the papers, said abutment being of such length as to cause the desired forward movement of the ejector plate before the coin disengages therefrom, at which time the coin slot Will be directly over the receptacle --40, the disengagement of the coin from the abutment -24 allowing the spring 19- to return the ejector plate -11- and abutment -24 to its normal starting position, and as soon as the patron releases the lever -30- after ejecting one of the papers, said lever and rock arm 25- will also be returned to their normal posit-ions by the lever --3i3-, ready for a repetition of the operation reviously described.

It will he noted from the foregoing description that the ejector plate returns to its normal position in advance and independently of the operating lever 30-, and at the end of its return movement, it serves to operate an alarm in the form of a bell 41- through the medium of an operating member 4:2 which is secured to the arm --22 on the ejector plate carrying the abutment 2A-.

Suitable means is provided for retaining the remaining papers --a---: in their stacked position upon the platform or follower 9, while the uppermost paper is being removed, said means consisting, in this instance, of a pair of toothed jaws 43 pivotally mounted upon the inner faces of opposite sides of the case 1, in such manner that the rear toothed edges may engage the adjacent edges of the paper next adjacent to the uppermost paper, said jaws being spring-pressed toward'the papers by springs 4:4r-, Fig. 2, but the inward movement thereof is limited by stops -45, Fig. 4.

The operation of my invention will now be readily understood upon reference to the foregoing description and accompanying drawings, but it is evident that certain changes may be made in some of the details without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination of the case having a delivery passage, means spring pressed upwardly for supporting a stack of articles to be vended so that the upper one will register with the delivery passage, a stop plate for engaging the uppermost article and slidable back and forth in its own plane, yielding means for holding the plate in a normal position, means on the under side of the plate for engaging one edge of the uppermost article and displacing the same from a stack as said plate is moved from its normal sition; a coin receiver movable in the direct1on of the movement of the plate, a coin chute for delivering a coin into the receiver, means for operating said receiver, an abutment on said plate projecting into the path of the movement of the coin in the receiver for operating said plate to displace the up permost article from the stack, said receiver and abutment being movable in diverging paths from their normal position to cause the coin to disengage from the abutment when the parts are moved to a certain position.

2. In a coin controlled vending machine the combination with an ejector plate and means for feeding the articles to be vended, one by one, against the underside of said plate to be ejected thereby, of a coin-chute, a horizontally swinging arm having means for receiving a coin from said chute when in one position and for releasing said coin when in another position, an abutment on the ejector plate in the path of movement of the coin in the receiver and means for rocking said arm to cause the coin to engage said abutment and thereby operate the ejector plate to eject the article engaged therewith.

'3. In a coin controlled vending machine, the combination of a horizontally swinging arm having a coin receiver, an operating lever therefor movable about an axls parallel with that of said arm, a slidable ejector for the articles to be vended having'an abutment in the path of movement of a coin in said receiver whereby the ejector is operated to eject one of said articles as the receiver is moved from its normal position, said coin receiver and abutment being'movable in diverging paths from their normal position to cause disengagement of the coin from said abutment when moved to a certain position. 4. In a coin controlled vending machine thecombination of a slidable ejector plate having adjustable means for engaging one edge of an article to be vended foreexpelling said article when the plate is moved in one direction from its normal position, a horizontally movable rock arm above the ejector plate and provided with a slot to receive a coin, a coin chute for conducting a coin into said slot, an-abutment on the ejector plate projecting into the path of movement of the coin in the slot whereby the movement of the rock arm from its normal position will operate the ejector plate, and a horizontally movable hand lever also above the plate and connected to said arm for rocking the same. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day of May, 1917.

JOHN H. ROBERTS. Witnesses:

H. E. Omen, ALICE M. CANNON. 

